1. A Topical Approach to LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT
Chapter One:
Introduction
John W. Santrock

2. The Life-Span Perspective
The Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
The Historical Perspective
Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective
Development — pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through life span

3. Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
Experiences influence development
Maximum human life span unchanged
Life expectancy — average number of years a person is expected to live when born in a particular year has changed
Developmental change occurs during adulthood as well as childhood

4. Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective
Lifelong
Multidimensional
Multidirectional
Plastic
Multidisciplinary
Contextual
Growth
Maintenance
Regulation of loss

5. Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
Development is contextual
Normative age-graded influences
Shared by a particular age group
Normative history-graded influences
Shared by a specific generation
Nonnormative life events
Unique to the individual

6. Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
Some contemporary concerns:
Health and well-being
Parenting and education
Sociocultural contexts and diversity
Culture
Ethnicity
Socioeconomic status
Gender

7. Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
Social policy — laws, regulations, and government programs that influence citizens’ welfare
U.S. family policies overwhelmingly treatment oriented

8. The Aging of America
Fig. 1.5

9. Processes in Development
Fig. 1.6

10. Nature of Development
Development period — time frame in one’s life characterized by certain events
Interplay of biological, cognitive, and sociological processes
Each period has its own stresses, ups and downs, and concerns
Variations in capabilities of same age individuals occur in all periods of development

11. Nature of Development Periods of development Prenatal Period Infancy
Early childhood
Middle and late childhood
Adolescence
Early adulthood
Middle adulthood
Late adulthood

12. Nature of Development Significance of age Age and happiness
Some studies — no differences for each age group
Some found “U-shaped” results — lowest happiness at years of age
U.S. research — happiness increases with age

13. Nature of Development Conceptions of age
Chronological age — number of years elapsed since person’s birth
Biological age — in terms of biological health
Psychological age — one’s adaptive capacities
Social age — social roles and expectations related to one’s age

14. Nature of Development Developmental issues Nature and nurture
Inheritance or environment?
Stability and change
Traits and characteristics; capacity for change?
Continuity and discontinuity
Gradual or abrupt changes in development?

15. Continuity and Discontinuity in Development
Fig. 1.9

16. Theories of Development
Theory — interrelated set of ideas that helps to explain data, make predictions
Hypotheses — assertions or predictions, often derived from theories that can be tested

17. Theories of Development
Psychoanalytic Theories
Development is primarily unconscious, heavy with emotion
Behavior is surface characteristic of development
Analyze symbolic meanings of behavior and deep inner workings of the mind for true meaning of development
Early childhood experiences stressed (ages 1-5)

18. Theories of Development
Freud’s theory
Id, ego, and superego create personality
Defense mechanisms and repression
Anxiety and defense mechanisms
Five stages of psychosexual development
Criticisms: overemphasized sexual instincts, unconscious is more important today

19. Freudian Stages
Fig. 1.10

20. Theories of Development
Erikson’s psychosocial theory
Primary motive for human behavior is social; desire to affiliate with others
Developmental changes throughout life span
Experiences at all ages are important
Criticisms: stages have positive/negative poles, crisis in each stage needs resolution

21. Erikson’s Eight Life-Span Stages

22. Theories of Development
Cognitive Theories
Emphasize conscious thoughts
Three major theories
Piaget’s cognitive development
Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory
Information processing theory

23. Theories of Development
Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory
Children actively construct their knowledge
Each of the four stages
Age-related
Has a distinct way of thinking
Has different way of understanding the world
Child’s cognition is “qualitatively” different

24. Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
Fig. 1.12

25. Theories of Development
Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory
Children actively construct their knowledge
Culture and social interaction guide cognitive development
Learning to use inventions of society
Learning from social interactions with more skilled adults and peers
Interaction creates tools to adapt to culture

26. Theories of Development
Information-Processing theory
Brain is compared to computer’s hardware
Cognition is viewed as computer software
Individuals acquire increasingly complex information
Thinking: perceive, encode, represent, store, and retrieve information
Good strategies: important to development

27. Information-Processing Theory
OUTPUT
INPUT
math
history
religion
culture
science
literature

28. Theories of Development
Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories
Behaviorism — scientific studies can only be based on direct observations and measures
Development is observable behavior
Learned from experiences/environment
Development does not occur in stages; advocates continuity

29. Theories of Development
Skinner’s operant conditioning
Consequences, rewards and punishment, shape behavior
No emphasis on thoughts, feelings
Development is pattern of behavioral changes
Modifying environment produces change
Changes determined by consistency experiences, rewards or punishments

30. Theories of Development
Bandura’s social cognitive theory
Behavior, environment, and cognition are key to development
Behavior is learned through observation and imitating (modeling)
Behavior of others is cognitively evaluated, strategies created for successful learning

31. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Model
Fig. 1.13

32. Theories of Development
Ethological Theory
Emphasis on biology and evolution, sensitive periods of development, and careful observations
Lorenz: imprinting
Animals’ rapid, innate learning process involving “attachment”
Critical period is early in life

33. Theories of Development
Ethological Theory
Bowlby
Used ideas of Lorenz
“Attachment” determines development
Positive and secure, negative and insecure
Sensitive period is in infancy
Promotes good social relationships

34. Theories of Development
Ecological theory
Bronfenbrenner’s view that development influenced by five environmental system
Microsystem
Mesosystem
Exosystem
Macrosystem
Chronosystem

35. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
Fig. 1.14

36. Theories of Development
Eclectic theoretical approach
Life-span development is complex
Each theory has contribution to understanding development
Selects from best features of each
A mistake to rely on only one theory

37. Research in Life-Span Development
Methods for Collecting Data
Observation:
Laboratory
Naturalistic observation
Cultural concerns
Survey and interview
Self-report, clear and unbiased questions

38. Research in Life-Span Development
Methods for Collecting Data
Standardized test
Case study
Focus on aspects of individual’s life
Unique, cannot be duplicated
Physiological measures
Blood tests, MRI

39. Research in Life-Span Development
Methods for Collecting Data
Descriptive research:
Observe and record
Correlational research:
Prediction based on strength of relationship
Correlation coefficient (+1.00 to -1.00)

40. Possible Explanations for Correlational Data
Fig. 1.19

41. Research in Life-Span Development
Methods for Collecting Data
Experimental research
Causality and effect
Dependent (Y) and independent (X) variables
Control and experimental groups
Random assignment of subjects
Manipulation of independent (X) variable

42. Principles of Experimental Research
Fig. 1.18

43. Research in Life-Span Development
Time Span of Research
Cross-sectional approach
Compares different age groups at the same time on a variety of dependent variables
Longitudinal approach
Studies same group over long period of time
Cohort effects: time of birth, generation, era

44. Research in Life-Span Development
Research Journals
Learning about journal process is beneficial
Scholarly and academic information published
Articles evaluated before publishing
Some journals more prestigious than others
Organization of article
Abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references

45. Research in Life-Span Development
Conducting Ethical Research
APA guidelines address
Informed consent, confidentiality
Debriefing, deception
Minimizing bias (gender, culture, ethnicity)
Ethnic gloss — overgeneralizing about ethnic group(s)

46. The End